Queanbeyan Council general manager Rebecca Ryan believes the new strategy will increase housing diversity. Photo: Screenshot/Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council.
When looking to buy a home in country NSW, many people search for a larger block of land.
Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council (QPRC) is asking property hunters to consider an alternative — a smaller block in town.
As part of this approach, the council is developing an Infill Housing Strategy, which will focus on the Queanbeyan CBD.
General manager Rebecca Ryan told Region the change would represent a chance to increase the CBD’s population, in turn improving its “wellbeing and vibrancy”.
“There’s a lot of space, or opportunities, within our central areas … where there might be an ability to create new homes in the established areas — close to transport, close to the railway station, coast, close to our swimming pool, parks, [and other] community facilities.”
In formulating its housing strategy, the council is focusing on ”brownfield” areas, which are previously developed sites that have been prepared for redevelopment.
“It’s not saying that we’re going to have another Canberra, or that apartment blocks need to be 15 storeys high,” Ms Ryan said.
“We’re not becoming a cityscape.”
Ms Ryan said community engagement would be key in protecting the town’s character and retaining what residents valued.
“We’ve got an existing residential area … [Some blocks] might be able to be subdivided into smaller lots or amalgamated, [for] the creation of townhouses or apartment blocks.
“It’s about having that discussion with the community about where that might occur.”
The housing strategy will focus on Queanbeyan’s CBD. Image: Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council.
Ms Ryan acknowledged that Queanbeyan’s heritage considerations would impact what changes could be made, but said QPRC was confident those could be managed.
“A lot of houses that we have in this older part of Queanbeyan, which is over 100 years old, are big four- or five-bedroom homes on large lots,” she said.
While nothing has been agreed on yet, Ms Ryan confirmed changes to the town’s Local Environment Plans and the Development Control Plan were expected.
“It’s just about getting that feedback, seeing where that opportunity for densification is, and then ensuring that that can be done sympathetically with what’s around it, taking into consideration our heritage and environment,” she said.
Ms Ryan said the strategy’s development, which included a community meeting in May, was set to take several months.
Following the community session, she said, a draft policy was expected to be finalised by the end of the current financial year.
Councillors will receive a report in late 2026, before the document is placed on public exhibition.
“We’re just wanting to talk to the community about what sort of housing might be available or what they would like and what’s important to them,” Ms Ryan said.
However, she said the discussions — expected to cover factors such as people’s needs around green spaces, transport and other services — were intended to build on what was already in place.
“That provides that opportunity for people to not have to move,” she said.
“They don’t have to leave and move into Canberra, or onto the coast or into a larger city, for them to have some diversity of housing.”
The council will hold a community session on 25 May from 6 pm to 8 pm at the Nellie Hamilton Centre, 257 Crawford Street, Queanbeyan.
People must register for the in-person session by 20 May, with the council also running an online survey through Your Voice QPRC.
